Karen Horney's Neurosis and Human Growth: A Critical Review

Overview of Horney's Central Argument

Karen Horney's work of non-fiction, Neurosis and Human Growth, is many different things. It is an astute analysis of the self — both as it exists inwardly and externally. It is a comparative effort engaging some of the most eminent theories pertaining to Sigmund Freud. It also offers more than a little advice for how to account for life and the feelings of fulfillment and completeness towards which most people strive. In addressing all of these various aspects of human existence, the author relies on the conception of the neurotic as a fundamental starting point for how the self operates, what it accounts for, and how it ultimately plays out in the lives of any number of individuals. This reliance on the neurotic as the touchstone for Horney's myriad concepts functions as the central takeaway of a work that actually spans many different directions.

The Inner Self and the Origins of Neurosis

It is important to realize that Horney views neuroticism as a reactionary aspect of human life and not an immanent one. This point is tremendously significant and helps focus the scope of the book and the vast majority of the notions the author addresses. In fact, what Horney is actually alluding to by offering this idea is that human nature in and of itself is not base, self-serving, or oriented toward simple carnal gratifications — all tenets which are central to many of Freud's most popular theories about people and human nature in general.

Instead, the author postulates that all people have an inner self — described as a "central inner force" (Horney) — that is buoyant, positive, and seeks to help them grow and achieve a kind of independence which realizes the true sense of completion and meaning of human existence. However, Horney believes that there is a process of deliberate socialization — which takes many different forms, from relationships and encounters with family and friends to a growing awareness of an overall community and its expectations — that shifts individuals' focus away from their innate selves and toward what eventually leads to neurosis.

The Idealized Self-Image and Neurotic Behavior

The crux of Horney's theory is that because of the various factors of socialization which lead the individual away from his or her own intrinsic self, he or she then creates an artifice — an artificial self — in which to live. The problem, as the author sees it, is that the individual then attempts to compensate for abandoning his or her own self, and does so in a way that inevitably leads to neurosis. The neurotic aspect of the self that the individual creates is based on the fact that the new self is not one's own internal self, but rather an "idealized self-image" (Horney) which is attempting to react to standards and situations in the world at large.

As such, that self is constantly trying to be something it is not, and there are no small number of different ways in which a person will attempt to create perfection — and his or her role in it — in order to live up to standards that are not truly his or her own. It is this sense of falsehood in the self of the individual that leads to a neurotic state, since that person is ultimately trying to become someone he or she is not in order to account for the external world, as opposed to nurturing and growing his or her own intrinsic self.

Neurotic Drives as Coping Mechanisms

It is crucial to recognize that, according to Horney, all people begin their lives with a unique perspective and means of viewing the world and themselves. Neuroticism and neurotic behavior — described as "neurotic drives" (Horney) — are merely coping mechanisms adopted to adapt to the surrounding world. These points are vital because their implications are largely at variance with those of Freud's theories. Human nature, the author posits, is inherently unique and, for lack of a better word, wondrous. It also needs encouragement and a degree of isolation from external pressures in order to foster its "healthy strivings" (Horney).

Moreover, many of the negative attributes of humanity are actually forms of learned behavior or, perhaps more accurately, defense mechanisms arising from fundamental aspects of socialization. The point is that these negative facets of people's characters — which stem from the idealized versions of themselves that they create to compensate for having abandoned their own inner selves — are not immanent. They are merely idealizations, such as harboring images of perfection or attempting to assert power and dominance over others because one does not feel such true power in one's own life, that the author categorizes as "compulsive drives" (Horney) — drives apart from human nature as it exists in its most basic, innermost self.

Conclusion

In summary, it is quite clear that Horney utilizes neurosis as the basic foundation for this work in order to discuss a number of interesting aspects of this phenomenon. These pertain to the innate nature of humankind (which she views as positive and healthy rather than selfish and negative), her contrast of this view with that of other prominent psychologists — namely Freud — and the different manifestations and lengths to which people go in order to maintain an idealized self as opposed to an inner self. This book is an excellent read for anyone seeking to understand neurotic impulses and their origins in the human condition.

Works Cited

Horney, Karen. Neurosis and Human Growth. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1991. Print.